Transformers: Broken Mirror
' Transformers: Broken Mirror' is a stop motion fan movie being produced by Crosshairs Productions. The film takes place in a continuity separate from the Transformers: Uprising continuity, permitting more creative freedom. It stars Joe Powell as SG Treadshot, Jewel Barnett as Grace Allen, Max Linden as Kup, Larry Hankins as SG Bumblebee, Drew Merkel as SG Wheeljack and Kick-Over, Matthew Cuff as Cliffjumper, Jason Goodchild as Optimus Prime, and Cedric Houle as SG Optimus Prime. Joe Powell and Max Linden also provide additional voices. It is unique in that it is one of the first Transformers stop motions to feature characters from the Shattered Glass universe, the protagonist Treadshot is a convention exclusive figure and not Optimus Prime or any other Autobot, and that no regular Decepticons appear prominently during the movie. Broken Mirror also features a unique musical score composed by Michael Jorns and Connor Hickling. The film is not entirely based in the Shattered Glass universe, more akin to a 'crossover' of universes. The first part of the film was released on 21st June 2014. Synopsis In the Shattered Glass Universe, the heroic Decepticon leader Megatron tasks Treadshot with a reconnaissance mission to Earth, which has been left desolate and uninhabitable after many years of fighting between Autobots and Decepticons. Treadshot takes his ship, the Twilight, to the planet and finds his objective - a gigantic metal construct which the Autobots are studying. Sneaking into the field laboratory, Treadshot discovers a human body inside a cryostasis pod and a strange object that, upon contact with him, knocks him unconscious. When he recovers, Treadshot notices that the human has disappeared from the pod, and is discovered by Bumblebee. In an ensuing firefight with the Autobots, the construct is activated and opens a portal to an unknown destination. With no other way of escaping, Treadshot leaps through just before the construct overloads and the portal collapses. Furious, Bumblebee contacts Wheeljack about the events that have transpired. Treadshot emerges from the portal in the sky above Yosemite National Park, California. His loud crash landing awakens Grace Allen, a human girl living nearby. She goes to investigate and meets Treadshot for the first time. Treadshot deduces that he has arrived in a parallel universe, as this Earth is teeming with life, and explains his origins to Grace. He tells her about how the Transformers' civil war begun and escalated, in a way mirroring most retellings of the Transformers' history but with the roles reversed - Optimus Prime is a cruel, murderous demagogue, while Megatron is democratic and valiant. Their conflict caused Earth to be devastated and humanity to become extinct. Treadshot realises that he has no way of returning to his universe, and Grace invites him to stay with her. Accepting her offer, he transforms to vehicle mode, and both he and Grace are shocked by the result - when he transforms into his alt mode, Treadshot's consciousness is placed inside that of a human body, specifically the one he encountered back on SG Earth. He and Grace return to her home, commenting on how surreal the experience has been for both of them. Meanwhile, back in the SG universe, Starscream reports Treadshot's disappearance to Megatron, and also reveals more information about the construct he was dispatched to investigate. They discover that it is a Space Bridge, used by Ancient Transformers as a method of faster intergalactic travel during a period when they were looking to colonise other worlds. Though they found Earth to be incompatible, the Space Bridge they fabricated remained and was presumably lost over time. The Autobots have made modifications to it that Shockwave believes will allow interdimensional travel too. Concerned at Optimus Prime's motives, Megatron orders Starscream to keep him updated. Treadshot and Grace have arrived at her home, and Grace tells him that he'll need a new name in order to fit in with humans. Treadshot spies a picture on the wall and enquires about who the people in it are. The photo is of Grace's family - her mother, father and older sister Sarah. She left their old family home a few years back but refuses to say why when Treadshot presses her for information. The Twilight returns to the Decepticon base on the Moon and is met by Megatron, Starscream and the Battlechargers Runamuck and Runabout. Megatron refuses to give up looking for Treadshot and orders Starscream to find him. 6 months pass, and Treadshot and Grace become closer, to the point where Treadshot favours his human form over his Cybertronian one. They visit San Francisco on New Year's Eve, and on a rooftop as midnight strikes, Grace reveals her true feelings for him and they kiss. The SG Autobots finish repairs on the Transversal Bridge and Bumblebee and Wheeljack pass through to hunt down Treadshot. They find Treadshot and Grace just as the heroic Autobots' presence on Earth is announced to the world by Optimus Prime, and Treadshot switches back to his robot body to fight them. He and Grace escape into Yosemite to hide, and Bumblebee gets in touch with his 'contact' in order to hunt Treadshot down. In Yosemite National Park, Grace tells Treadshot the truth about her family. While she was partying in San Francisco, a gas fire broke out at their house and killed her parents and sister. She was never really able to come to terms with their deaths until Treadshot arrived and became part of her life. When Treadshot inquires as to how Grace sees him - as a Transformer or a human - her reply indicates the latter. SG Bumblebee finds the pair in the morning and apparently alerts the human/Autobot coalition Skywatch. A pair of Quinjets and Autobots Kup and Kick-Over pursue Treadshot and Grace through the park but cannot follow them into the forest. Grace's presence complicates the matter, as Kup will not risk an innocent human being injured. Treadshot and Grace are nearly home free, when Grace is struck unconscious by a sniper's bullet, and Treadshot is blown off his feet by a heatseeking missile fired from a Quinjet. They are taken into custody by Skywatch. Upon arriving at Skywatch HQ in Arizona, Optimus Prime reprimands Kick-Over for his irresponsible acts in the field and confines him to base. Treadshot is interrogated by Kup and Tracks, and attempts to convince them of his innocence. Cliffjumper reports to Optimus Prime on the only file on their universe's Treadshot - he was a Decepticon who participated in the first assault on Iacon and killed by Grimlock in the tunnels beneath the Decagon. Optimus Prime is convinced that Treadshot is not of this universe and orders his restraints removed. Treadshot furiously demands to know what happened to Grace and who the sniper was, and Prime informs him that she is in the medical centre receiving treatment, but that there were no sniper units authorised for the Skywatch taskforce that brought them in. As Optimus takes Treadshot to the medical block to see Grace, a Skywatch soldier detects the Pretender technology inside him, and Treadshot reveals his human form to the Autobots. Optimus, Kup and Cliffjumper all warn Treadshot about the volatile Kick-Over, who is consistently hostile towards him. A while later, Grace recovers from her wound and leaves the medical block to meet Treadshot. Before they can speak further of the events of that day, they are approached by General John Wyatt, who asks Treadshot to have a private discussion with him and Optimus. Grace notices Kick-Over's hostility towards Treadshot as they pass each other. In the ops room, Optimus tells Treadshot that the Autobots intelligence has been compromised for some time, and they believe that Kick-Over is an SG Autobot sleeper agent, due to a quantum event many years ago similar to the one that brought Treadshot to their universe. Optimus again warns Treadshot about Kick-Over, and the lack of trust the Autobots have for him. Before they can continue, Decepticon sightings are reported in Brussels and Barcelona, and Kup, Cliffjumper and Tracks are dispatched to take on the threats. Grace locates Kick-Over in the training room venting his anger. She asks why Kick-Over has such difficulty getting on with Treadshot and he tells her that regardless of which universe he allegedly comes from, the Decepticon badge makes him an enemy. Grace realises that he only feels this way about Treadshot due to past experiences, and when the Autobot demands that she leaves the subject alone, she stubbornly refuses, desperate to make her case. Kick-Over eventually decides to tell her in confidence. On Cybertron, he was the head of intelligence for the Autobot Elite Guard in Polyhex. He received intel that could potentially turn the tide of the war, but before it could be relayed to Optimus Prime he was one of the unlucky few taken prisoner by a Decepticon assault. He was forced to fight in the gladiator pits for the Decepticon lieutenant Overlord's entertainment in order to survive. Kick-Over was forced to murder seventeen of his comrades before being rescued, constantly haunted by his actions and his hatred of the Decepticon insignia ever present. Before he leaves for the ops room, Kick-Over warns Grace to be careful who she trusts, aware of the reservations the other Autobots have for him and Prime's uncharacteristic finger-pointing. As he departs, Treadshot appears, having overheard the conversation and unsure of who to trust. He and Grace come to the conclusion that the only other possible traitor in the Autobots is Optimus Prime himself, and this theory is backed up by Prime's knowledge of the Transversal Bridge. The danger they are in is suddenly evident, and they race to the ops room. Upon arrival, they discover Kick-Over is dead, having attempted to kill the real spy, and Optimus' weapon has been drawn. Treadshot draws his own weapon, but is stopped short of firing when Wyatt places a gun to Grace's temple. Treadshot is forced by Prime to transform into vehicle mode and take on his Pretender form. He tells Treadshot that his disabling of the Transversal Bridge and theft of the Pretender tech hindered the SG Autobots' operation, and that he was indeed the traitor in the Autobots' midst - Kick-Over's intel was perfectly legitimate, but since Prime had access to the intel files too he could edit them to be false. Treadshot demands to know where the real Optimus is, and the false Prime says he can meet him, opening a new portal with a 'Void Gun' and throwing Treadshot through. With that, Optimus, Bumblebee and Wheeljack commence the destruction of Skywatch HQ, and the traitor Prime's true physical form is revealed... as SG Optimus Prime. Treadshot meets the real Optimus Prime, trapped there by his evil counterpart some time ago. He discovers that they are in the Void, a microverse in between universes. Treadshot tells Prime that in order to get out of their prison, they need to trust each other. Being the only two sentient things in that reality, Optimus states that they have very little choice. Back at Skywatch, SG Optimus reveals to Grace that General Wyatt is his Pretender body and the sniper who fired at and wounded her at Yosemite. The human shells were grown from DNA retrieved from their battlefields, designed to slowly infiltrate native populaces by imitating the local life forms. Treadshot possesses the Pretender prototype, and more recent versions of the technology allow the user to operate as both a robot and human without needing to change form. His final act as the Skywatch commander is to order the executions of all Autobot units, and Prime promptly destroys his human shell, the Initiative now useless. Bumblebee is ordered to take Treadshot's car mode outside and destroy it in order to prevent the Decepticon from being able to return. In Brussels, Tracks' Skywatch taskforce receives Wyatt's orders and execute the Autobot. As this has all been happening, Treadshot has been recounting his tale to Optimus, who believes his story. Prime sights a strange pod nearby, which Treadshot recognises as the cryo tube that he found his human body in when spying on the SG Autobots. Optimus asks if Treadshot could try reconnecting with his robot body from the other way and, despite his doubts, Treadshot attempts to do so. He glimpses Bumblebee dragging his car mode away to be destroyed before the connection snaps and his consciousness is thrown back into his human form. Though weakened by the attempt, Optimus is able to convince Treadshot to try again. Just before Bumblebee destroys his body, Treadshot is able to return his mind to his Cybertronian form. He swiftly takes down the evil Autobot, and kills him in a huge explosion that was intended for him. The detonation is heard by SG Prime and Wheeljack, though they dismiss it, and then Treadshot bursts through the roof and takes them by surprise. Freeing Grace, they escape to the airfield where an undamaged Quinjet is waiting. Treadshot tells Grace to try and get it fired up, despite her knowing very little about how to fly, while he loads up his car body. Prime and Treadshot engage in a short firefight until Grace finds the autopilot function on the Quinjet, and manages to fire a missile at the evil Autobots. The duo make their escape, heading for Barcelona to try and meet up with Cliffjumper and Kup. Realising this, Prime orders Wheeljack to use his Pretender body to hunt down the Autobots while he prepares a buried Space Bridge for retrofitting into a Transversal Bridge. Touching a nearby rock causes the Cybertronian construct to rise from the ground, demolishing Skywatch HQ. In Barcelona, Kup and Cliffjumper are still hiding from Skywatch, and the latter is losing hope that their comrades are alive. Treadshot contacts Kup on an open channel to say that they are on their way, and the Autobots roll out to rendezvous on the highway. Unfortunately, Wheeljack's Pretender has also picked up on the message, and attacks Kup and Cliffjumper on the road, causing heavy collateral damage. Grace and Treadshot arrive to assist, but Wheeljack's Quinjet manages to damage theirs. Treadshot assumes his robot form and leaps free with Grace just as their Quinjet collides mid-air with Wheeljack's, destroying both aircraft and Wheeljack's Pretender. Cast In terms of Evil Decepticons; Overlord appears in Kick-Over's flashback; an Eradicon is briefly glimpsed during the scene in Brussels; and Megatron is only mentioned by name. Quotes SG Megatron: "The Constructicons will be on standby to give you assistance should you require it. But I have complete faith in you, Treadshot. You're one of my best scouts. Are you up for this mission?" SG Treadshot: "Heh. You never had to ask." ''- Megatron '''debriefs '''Treadshot and references the Constructicons because fan service.'' "Oh bugger." ''- Treadshot realises he's 500 feet in the air and heeding the call of gravity.'' "A 20 foot robot crash-landed within walking distance of my house. My day can't get much more surreal than this." ''- Grace makes a fair point.'' "There's another human custom I haven't told you about." ''- Grace gives Treadshot a final lesson in being human.'' "People of Earth, my name is Optimus Prime. For some time, my Autobots and I have been living among you, hiding in plain sight, protecting you from out enemies, the Decepticons. We have formed an alliance with a coalition of nations, working with humans and sharing our resources to protect humankind. I promise, in the name of freedom, we will eradicate the Decepticon threat from your world once and for all." ''- Optimus Prime addresses the world.'' Treadshot: '"How do you see me, Grace? Do you see me as the metal warrior from another world, or do you see me as...human?" '''Grace: '"What do you think?" ''- Treadshot''' and Grace share a tender moment.'' "Yeah, and Unicron turns into a canoe." ''- Tracks, sass king.'' Treadshot: (in human form) "What's that?" SG Optimus Prime: "Your home for eternity." ''- SG Optimus prepares to trap Treadshot in the Void in his human form.'' Treadshot: (holding a detonator) "What does this button do?" SG Bumblebee: "Motherfu-" (explodes) ''- Bumblebee gets a taste of his own medicine.'' Transformers references *The background for the Shattered Glass universe has a number of differences to the canonical one. For example, the SG Seekers in Broken Mirror are still a Decepticon air unit led by Starscream, while the canon SG Seekers are Autobots led by Rodimus. Additionally, Transformers are powered by regular sparks rather than 'embers'. *SG Wheeljack uses swords like his Prime namesake's, due to being a repaint of said character. *Every Transformer has a unique transformation sound effect, reflecting the same concept in the movieverse. The only exceptions are the redshirt drones. *Skywatch exists in IDW's Transformers continuity, though it originally existed as an alien-hunting government organisation. In the Broken Mirror story, it was set up specifically for the human/Autobot coalition as a Decepticon hunting taskforce. *Cliffjumper calling Kick-Over "Kick-Off" is a nod to the original Action Master figure from the 90s and to the confusion over his name when the figure was released at Botcon 2012. *The Pretender technology utilised by the SG Autobots and Treadshot is partly derived from the Japanese G1 continuity, though the science is different. *General John Wyatt's surname is an homage to Transformers: Animated's art director, character designer and colour stylist Derrick J. Wyatt. *Wyatt's line "it's like it came out of a bad TV show!" is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the original G1 cartoon, *Kick-Over's backstory is based on IDW's 'Last Stand of the Wreckers' comic, where he was a prisoner of Overlord forced to fight in gladiator pits. The only differences here are that in LSOTW he was stationed at Garrus-9 rather than Polyhex, and did not survive his time in the arena. *Wyatt's authorisation code is Nine-One-Eight-Four-Victor-Charlie. If crosshairs001 hadn't screwed up the order, the number would've been a reference to the year G1 first aired plus Victor Caroli's initials. * Treadshot tells the Autobots to 'roll out', stealing the line away from Optimus. Real-world references *As well as the Japanese G1 continuity, the Pretender technology here takes inspiration from films such as Avatar. *"The Void", "chameleon circuitry" and "the Slow Invasion" are all nods to the popular BBC sci-fi TV show Doctor Who. *The Quinjets and the Skywatch logo are straight up repurposings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's S.H.I.E.L.D. designs. Trivia *This story was never originally going to be based on Shattered Glass. It went through a number of different iterations before settling on SG Treadshot's story. The list of potential protagonists included ROTF Gears, Optronix (as a Powermaster), Bulkhead, Arcee, Cliffjumper (those three as a trio of humans placed in robot bodies) and even Kick-Over. Though the Shattered Glass element was not incorporated until Treadshot was acquired, the movie was always going to include the concept of humans becoming robots (or vice versa). * Original titles for the movie included 'Gears of War' and 'Hearts of Steel'. No points for guessing which one would've featured Gears. Category:Transformers: Broken Mirror Category:Shattered Glass Category:Upcoming Stop Motions Category:Stop Motion Movie